The allegations that arose in 1994 stunned Elizabeth Ramirez. Everything she does is camouflaged, he said, adding that she probably made a deal with Rosemary, her mother, for money or other help. She had just gotten home from a shift at Arbys, where she had recently been promoted to manager. I thought she should have gotten life, said Gentry, the foreman. Rosemary, who had trouble fighting for custody since she lived outside of Texas, floated around, at one point moving to Mexico with a husband who had immigration issues. Hooper described Javiers behavior as a pattern, saying he uses the authorities to get back at people who have crossed him. They grew closer and, with Elizabeth beginning to realize she was attracted to women, eventually started dating. More letters followed, each one taking about two weeks between his home and Elizabeths prison in Marlin. The women cooperated with authorities and vehemently denied that any abuse had taken place. He continued typing. Elizabeths lawyer, Freddy Ruiz, tried to get VL to say that she was mixed up, and that the gun had actually been wielded by her father Javier in Colorado. "I'm a single mom raising kids, living on the streets," she testified, becoming emotional on the stand. You got lucky! Gloria Herrera has taped a picture of her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez, as a young girl, to a rosary and placed it around a statue of Jesus displayed in a shrine, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. She warned her daughter not to take care of Javiers daughters. The Texas Observer is known for its fiercely independent, uncompromising work which we are pleased to provide to the public at no charge in this space. She saw them often. The three women reported to prison, where they were all given higher security levelsincluding, at one point, more than 30 days in solitary confinement for Cassiebecause they refused to take sex offender rehabilitation classes. He explained to Elizabeth that her nieces were accusing her and several of her friendswho had also been at the apartment that weekof sexually abusing them. For 20 years, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez have fought to prove their innocence. Editor's note: Violence at a local sporting event last made national news when South San basketball player Tony Limon received a five-year prison . Gloria Herrera keeps a picture of her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez in a Bible in her bedroom, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. There had been other little kidsCassies kids and some neighborsin the apartment throughout the week, but now she was adamant that she and her sister had been the only children. Fueled by the "Satanic Ritual Abuse Panic" of the day, baffling charges by one of the women's nieces send them all to prison. You must understand I was threatened, and I was told that if I did tell the truth that I would end up in prison, taken away, and even get my ass beat. She gave the San Antonio Express-News permission to use her name even though the paper's policy is to not name victims of sex assault, which she still is in the eyes of the law. Morales maintained that he was minding his own business and focused on appealing his prior criminal case to get out of prison, and denied any involvement in the murder. When Javier got home, the girls told him the whole shocking story of being held down and raped, he said. With her are her lawyer, Casie Gotro, and her husband, Joseph Martinez. "Word is on the street is that someone else did it, and not [Gregorio Agustine]?" The younger of the two accusers, now 25, has recanted, saying no assault occurred. Four gay Hispanic women molesting children was something that seemed to go down everyone's throats quite easily only, it wasn't true. She was still leaking milk when the police took her to jail. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. what happened to javier limon san antonio. When the two former lovers saw each other, We were both just shaking, Cassie remembers. The case caught the attention of just almost every eyeball out there. A local judge still must make recommendations to the Court of Criminal Appeals about whether to throw out the convictions and how to rule on some of the womens lawyers arguments. It was Nov. 18, and they had been waiting since that morning, having skipped lunch because the release seemed imminent. It turned my stomach, she said. She had not spoken to him for 13 years, though family members had updated her on his growth, his football games and his girlfriends, and informed her that he was staying out of trouble. He is now 18, with a job and a girlfriend. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. I would not have one with her., Did you have a gay relationship with Anna?, Did you have a gay relationship with Cassie?, That doesnt mean you have to be together., Well, maybe Im confused. They were all arrested and convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Most of the time, as he learned from reading scientific journals, these women are teachers who fall in love with a student. His packet of information about the case ended up on the desk of Debbie Nathan, a journalist who wrote Satans Silence, the seminal book on the satanic scandals, and who regularly vets cases for the organization. Of course she did. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the At the station, Matjeka asked if she knew a man named Javier Limon and his two daughters. Thank you for reading! Matjeka was helping investigate a sex crime and asked if she would come to the station to answer a few questions. Matjeka's tone grew less friendly. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. Cassandra Rivera gave the white teddy bear at right to her mother, Margaret Rivera (left), 11 years ago. It was mentioned mostly by the defense attorneys, who attempted to show that relationships between women have nothing to do with pedophilia. Anna said she no longer cared if anyone saw them as lovers, since they had so little time left. The questioning continued, focusing on Elizabeths relationships with women. And the letters? I never heard anything back.. Her brother, Chis Vasquez, right, is her unofficial guard, making sure she is OK as friends greet her. When he denied that the letters existed, she took them out and pointed to his signature. Ive kind of prepared myself for the feelings he might have, that I abandoned him., Several weeks later, the night she was released, she met him for dinner at Pizza Hut. She also testified that she felt scared as she was high on methamphetamines, stressed and confused when told there was a murder investigation. "They were involved in the opposition movement against the military regime. September 5, 2012. Elizabeth Ramirez is in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas, September 5, 2012. Some of the discrepancies came from Serafina Limon, Javiers mother, who initially reported the girls outcries. On Saturday evening, officers were called to the apartment. Jarrett Morris, who told her she could be facing drug trafficking charges and could lose her kids. Delevan, the prosecutor, said she hadnt prosecuted the women for their sexual orientation. He stormed away. Had she ever left her nieces under the care of her friends? If you support this mission, we need your help. Javier told me he testified in court on the matter, but that the police filed the CPS report, not him. She immediately denied the accusation. Follow her on Twitter @gina_k210, An inmate on trial for allegedly directing the 2014 murder of a Santa Maria drug dealer finished testifying in his own defense Friday but not . He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. I did not want a relationship with her. Javier Limn (born 1973) is a record producer, singer and songwriter born and raised in Madrid, Spain.Limn has worked with several artists, mainly from Spain, since he incorporates elements of flamenco rhythm to his work. He had already taken my kids, so he couldnt hurt me there. Anna had traded her usual T-shirts and jeans for a purple blouse. Gloria Herrera shows her favorite pictures of her daughter, Elizabeth Ramirez, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Around the same time, Anna was put on maintenance duty and assigned to fix the lights in Cassies cell. Detectives gave her a recording device and ordered her to call Morales in prison, record the conversation, then hand it over. Grandma, I cant tell you because something happened, and they threatened me, the girl said, as Serafina later related to a jury. Alejandre testified she went to the sheriff's substation voluntarily and spoke with Sgt. By the time of the trials, she told me, good pediatricians knew this stuff had been discredited.. Cassandra Rivera, seen here Sept. 5, 2012, is currently in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas. In 2012, one of the nieces admitted to having been pressured by her father, Javier Limon, to make the false accusations. Paper bags of the womens belongings were passed through the door. Site made in collaboration with CMYK. Anna Vasquez hugs one of her older brothers, Robert Vasquez, as they embrace each other for the first time in 12 and a half years on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Of course she did. A sentence of 37 and a half years was a compromise between more and less lenient jurors. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. Limon was the boyfriend of Ramirez's sister at the time. My sister., The more I interviewed the estranged couple, ferrying bits of information between them, the clearer the duality became: Javier was either a vindictive, wrathful man or a caring father who was being smeared by Elizabeths family. She served 12 and a half years. In the spare, gray courtroom, Cassie, who often wore denim overalls, had on a black dress with white flowers. Nathan brought the case to the Innocence Project of Texas, where well-known attorney Jeff Blackburn agreed to represent the women. The lawyers had argued about it, and he expected to get cut from the jury pool, but now here he was sitting in the jury box. Vasquez along with three other women are fighting for exoneration from a 1994 sexual assualt case. But I cant do nothin because its my job., All four of the women described to me a transition in prison from rage and bewilderment to acceptance and quiet resolve. Stephanie Limon Martinez (center) breaks down in a state district court in Houston during questioning at a hearing concerning custody of her children. Kristies parents were divorced and her mother, like Elizabeths, was uncomfortable with her daughters sexual orientation. Anna Vasquez served more than a decade in jail while the other three women remain imprisoned. Some things were familiar: Elizabeth savored a strawberry shake from McDonalds and watched a Spurs game on television; Cassie went to a cookout for her sons birthday. Strangers congratulated them. Her father Javier called, and as VL assured him that everything at Aunt Lizs house was going just fine, her aunt held the gun to her head. Elizabeth moved in with her sister Rosemary, who was then living with Javier Limon and their three young children. In high school, she remained small, never more than 4-foot-9, though that didnt keep her from playing on the basketball team. Casie Gotro, Stephanie's lawyer, is at left. After splitting with her first girlfriend, Elizabeth started dating a man named Hector. This is a carousel. Limon has been charged with capital murder. Elizabeth still wasnt sure what she wanted to do, and she struggled with her new identity. When I handed him copies of the letters, he leafed through them disinterestedly. The story of the San Antonio Four unfolded like this: In the summer of 1994, Ramirez's two nieces, the 9- and 7-year-old daughters of her older sister, stayed for a week with Ramirez and. He didnt want to let me go.. When Darrell Otto first sent the letter, he wasnt sure who would reply. Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. The judge hearing the case will determine whether the couple get their children back. Lopez, who normally handled child sexual abuse cases. They couldnt get me drunk or doing anything illegal. He and Rosemary had gone through a messy custody battle over the kids after she moved to Denver and began a relationship with a former friend of Javiers named Oscar Aguirre. Kristie wanted to return to veterinarian school at Texas A&M if she could find the money. By At left is Rose Vasquez, Anna's sister-in-law, taking pictures. What was next? The statute made it easier to challenge convictions based on outdated forensic evidence. I called all the womens previous attorneys, and they didnt even remember the case, she told me. Still hale in his mid-50s, with close-cropped hair, Otto lives without reliable electricity or running water. Question ( 92735) Answer ( 32) When the jury announced her guilt, Elizabeth remembers her mother standing up and screaming, No! Allowed five minutes to say goodbye to her family, Elizabeth was then escorted to a holding cell, where she fainted. Elizabeth told me that after she became pregnant, Javier offered to marry her and was upset when she refused. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. During that conversation, which was played to the jury, Alejandre could be heard asking Morales who killed Limon. Javier said that after the girls spent the week at Elizabeths in July 1994, he didnt notice anything different at first. I think that first story was really complicated, she explained. The girl's father, Javier Limon, claims that shortly after bringing them back to San Antonio from Denver in 1992, they were caught acting out sexually with dolls, which led to their disclosing these events to him. Anna Vasquez (from left), Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh and Cassandra Rivera have been fighting to clear their names in a bizarre 1994 sex assault case. She said that her father, Javier Limon, and her grandmother, Serafina Limon, hit the ceiling when they found out Ramirez and her friends had come out as lesbiana risky move in 1990s San Antonio. "I thought you weren't supposed to face charges, per the agreement?" Ramirez has testified that the. The scene of the crime had vanished. I would never hurt them in any way, never., Elizabeths lawyer jumped in, saying, Judge, did counsel make reference to O.J. Vasquez's mother, Maria Vasquez, and aunt, Valeria Pachecano, attended the meeting in her place. Rosemary recounted years later that Javier threatened her family. It is probable that [Javier] wrote it, said one, adding that there is not enough evidence to make a definite identification or elimination. Another explained, It is one thing to attempt to imitate someones signature once or twice, but an entirely different and exponentially more difficult thing to attempt to successfully imitate a large quantity of extended writing.. 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